The condensate drain from our air handler now runs across the wall and into the laundry sink. This is stopping us from attaching shelving to the wall. I noticed that the sump pump pit is right next to the air handler. Can I just route the pvc so it empties out directly into the sump? There is a metal cover on it now with a little gap for the power cord so I would need to make another little hole for the pvc pipe and just run it down the wall then along the wall for a foot or so with a little bit of a downslope.
Plumbing – Running air handler condensate drain into sump
hvacplumbingsump-pump
Related Solutions
It should definately come on before the water gets to that level. Is the float the kind that has its cord clamped to a pipe and it swings up and down? If its that kind, make sure that its not hung up on anything. You may need to manually run the pump to empty the water and troubleshoot the float. Lift it and see if the pump comes on. Does the float have a separate cord that plugs into the outlet and then the pump plugs into the back of the floats plug?
I agree that it should pump more than a half inch per minute. I would think it would be normal to empty the tank in around 20-30 seconds.
The main thing you will need to pay attention to is the head rating of the sump pump. I can't imagine a standard big box store sump pump would have any trouble raising the water 8 feet...every sump I've ever owned had to go at least that high. The horizontal run has a negligible effect on the capability of the pump (it's not zero, but it is very small compared to the vertical portion.)
Yo uwill need to make sure that the pump can discarge enough water at the head height to keep up with the flow of water into the pit. This is most often a guessing game, unless you know the volume of the pit and can time how long it takes to fill up under the worst conditions (perhaps a severe rain storm).
A pump curve tells you the flow performance (measured in gallons per minute or liters per minute) of a pump relative to the head pressure. To read a pump curve, you must first examine the units of measurement used along each of the displayed axes. The pictured pump curve displays head pressure in Feet (along the left-side y-axis) and in Meters (along the right-side y-axis). Increased head pressure is indicated as you travel up the y-axis. The flow performance is indicated in gallons per minute (along the lower x-axis) and liters per minute (along the upper x-axis). This is an indication of the output flow of a pump.
The pump curve is read by first determining the head pressure of the application in which the pump will be used. Once you’ve determined your head pressure, simply follow the head value you have selected from the y-axis horizontally to where it intersects with the pump curve line. From that point, move vertically to the flow measurement on the x-axis.
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Best Answer
Well, i don't really see an issue with this since the condensate water is basically distilled water with neutral PH. The legal issue with it may be due to furnace condensate water which contains carbonic acid. Using a neutralizer will take away almost all the acidity, however some municipalities still don't allow either condensate water to be piped to the sump to account for idiocy.
One possible solution, you can get a condensate pump, and have it pump the water though a tube to any sink, or drain you can run the tube to. The only downside is the sound of the pump turning on ever now and then.